Xiaomi Mi Note 3: An iPhone-Busting Camera Phone for Half the Price

Arrived in the same month as Apple announced its latest devices, Xiaomi is fearless to go head-to-head with the tech behemoth, finding a way to steal the iPhone X’s popularity today with its top-of-the-line camera phone – the Mi Note 3.

The Xiaomi Mi Note range is known for its big-screen, phablet-like smartphones with high-end features and specifications. But all this has changed with the Mi Note 3, the current device to don the Mi Note name, which was announced a day before Apple’s much-awaited flagship phones. People may not have noticed its arrival, but it has got more megapixels than the much-talked-about iPhone X. Here is a breakdown of its features and specifications.

Not your typical affordable midranger

Instead of making it a flagship, Xiaomi created the Mi Note 3 as a midrange device with a smaller display size and a decent processor, making it more affordable. This not only makes it an economical alternative to Apple’s latest handsets but also to competing brands in China like Oppo. Just like the Mi Mix 2, the Mi Note 3 has lesser bezels and has a fingerprint sensor under its 5.5-inch display.

The iPhone-Busting Selfie Snapper

Its 5.5-inch display sports a 1920x1080 pixel resolution better than the one on the iPhone 8. This is encased in an aluminum body with glass trimmings around it. This makes the phone look visually-pleasing, similar to its predecessor, the Mi 6. Not only does it have a premium design but also it comes with powerful cameras that will give Apple a run for its money. The Mi Note 3’s rear camera has the same number of megapixels as the iPhone X but it supersedes it in the selfie department with its 16-MP resolution; 9 notches higher compared to iPhone X’s 7 MP selfie snapper. Along with 2X optical zoom 4-axis optical image stabilization, and a portrait mode, Xiaomi has developed the finest rear camera that can accurately blur out the background.

Ginormous Battery Life

Although the Mi Note 3 houses a Snapdragon 660 chipset with a 6 GB of RAM which is subpar compared to the latest Apple devices, it offers a bigger battery capacity of 3,500 mAh, larger than the iPhone X at 2,675 mAh. This provides plenty of power for most users. Not to mention, it has other features that will complement its large RAM size such as the NFC, stereo speakers, USB type-C, IR-blaster, and a 64-GB internal storage.

Price and Release Date

Although Xiaomi announced the device on September 11, they will start shipping worldwide between September 16 and 19. As for the price, the Mi Note 3 starts at around 19,604 PHP for the 64-GB variant.

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